Posted on 03/09/2008 7:27:53 AM PDT by Bean Counter
NO more good intentions. Washington state is committed to a purposeful response to climate change.
The Legislature has bravely and aggressively moved down a path to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, pare back vehicle miles traveled and prepare for the employment opportunities of an environmentally-attuned economy.Passage of House Bill 2815 takes the goals outlined a year ago by Gov. Christine Gregoire and transforms them into an action plan. As captured in the title of a report by her Climate Advisory Team, the state is leading the way.
Key state agencies will report back to the Legislature by December with the tools and best practices to help everyone get started and make progress.
Directions from lawmakers make it plain they view climate change as real, and they want a sharp shift from goals to substantive public policy.
As legislative analysis noted, "reporting requirements are a good first step for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the details on reporting need to be clear." Establishing a benchmark to measure future progress is basic. So is the spirit of creating requirements that can be understood and embraced by the public. Do not skimp on brainpower and creativity in making it easy to comply.
At least half of the challenge from greenhouse-gas emissions is tied up in the phrase "vehicle miles traveled." Reducing emissions is a mix of driving less and creating smart transportation incentives and alternatives.
The stick of tolls, congestion pricing and creative limits on parking supply needs to be matched with the carrots of more transit options and broader availability of plug-in technology for hybrid cars. All are anticipated, along with licensing and insurance regulations linked to miles driven and vehicle weight.
*SNIP*
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Through all of the rule-making and policy-drafting, Gregoire and lawmakers need to be sensitive to the allies they have in industry, business and commerce. Give them incentives and a clear understanding that they can do well by doing good. There is money and environmental progress to be made in smart, manageable climate-change policy.
In the absence of federal environmental leadership and action, the states must lead. Washington has stepped up admirably.
**SCHNIPP**
Washington *ping*
We're about to be taxed by the milage rating of our automobiles, so that the State can try and use that money to build Loot Rail. That ought not fly, but up in Pugetopolis they think differently than the average bear...
Congestion tolling is when you jack the price of the toll on a critical crossing so high that you force people who are only trying to go to work to go someplace else to cross, usually miles out of their way.
And Loot Rail is still the order of the day for WashDOT, and their answer to all of the ills in the world including fleas, farts, and freckles...
With Property Taxes on residential real estate already at all time record highs, it's scary to contemplate where else Olympia may try to raise money...
God help us!
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I wonder how the good people of Ohio might feel about this statement this morning?
Why its so important to Elect Republican Dino Rossi in November. With Gregoire in power along with a heavily Democrat Legislature there is no bill to radical for them to try to get through. And here is a lesson for you non-Washington Freepers - the same thing can happen Nationally if we get Hillary or Obama in the Oval office.
The most fuel efficient car is the one that is moving. Coming to a stop for a toll booth line and then having to accelerate again to get back to highway speed is no way to save fuel and lower emissions. What idiots.
Here is the jaw dropping story from Feb 29
Should roads have tolls to fight global warming?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004250231_warming29m.html
OLYMPIA — Two global-warming bills likely to pass the Legislature this session could open the door to tolls on major highways in the central Puget Sound region as a way to reduce traffic and greenhouse-gas emissions.
Environmental groups consider the bills critical to a larger effort to get people out of their cars and into public transportation. Transportation accounts for almost half of the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions.
House Bill 2815 requires the state to sharply reduce greenhouse gases between now and 2050. It also calls for slashing the number of miles traveled by vehicles in the state by half in the same time period.
The second bill, House Bill 1773, says tolls should be used to reduce greenhouse gases. It would allow tolls to become permanent and to vary in price based on the time of day.
Both bills passed the House and are in the Senate. They’re expected to become law.
Sad that we've become so easily led to our own decay.
Right.
Into a big pile of Bravo Sierra ...
“Climate change,” huh? No one has the guts to say “warming” any more? Or will that wait until July?
Sadly, there isn’t anyone left in the state legislature who has anything resembling “guts”.
Have you ever caught a kid swiping a cookie? Remember how he gobbled it up rather than allow it to be confiscated? This is the Washington State Legislature. They are rushing to pass all this crap before Washington’s slow-witted populace realizes they are being duped.
That should read Reelect and it will happen if the Rats in King county are prevented from coming up with endless "uncounted lost votes" come this election.
Don’t they toll while you are moving with a little sticker on your dashboard......taking from the account you’ve paid into?
The old term used when I was in college was "Bandwagon." Everybody get on board.
I already tossed my hat into the ring for Dino Rossi again. Tax and spend dims are running amok in our state. Property taxes went up a whopping 30% this year alone! Tax on a gallon of gas is over 30 cents now. We need to get the dims out of power and NOW.
You are talking the Narrows Bridge - and that is just a portion of the drivers that use the stickers. Others, many others still stop their $3 at the toll plaza. Point is you would still need Toll Plazas for the people not using stickers and for out of state drivers.
“The most fuel efficient car is the one that is moving. Coming to a stop for a toll booth line and then having to accelerate again to get back to highway speed is no way to save fuel and lower emissions. What idiots.”
Washington has perfected electronic tolling. You give the sheeple a transponder that automatically hooks directly into their checking account. They even give you a “deal” on the tolls by charging those who have to stop and pay cash even more...
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